Doom and gloom VS Academic Medicine

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HMSBeagle

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With all the pessimistic talks about medicine and healthcare in the US ( decreasing reimbursements, etc) I have come to think that academic medicine is really a good alternative to private practice in this days of doom and gloom. With the proposed reimbursements cuts private practice will be less attractive and maybe academic medicine will be more sought after. I don't if this view is correct or not, but it is something I was thinking about the other day.

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Please get yourself either a dog or a blog.

kthx yw!
 
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The original post doesn't ask a question. It kinda does sound like a blog entry.
 
Ok my bad. :D
What I wanted to ask is what you think about academic medicine and if it will become a good deal or even better than private practice if reimbursements continue to fall.
 
Why would it become a good deal? Dropping reimbursements would mean the hospital gets paid less. If the hospital gets paid less, your salary shrinks. That's how bonuses work right now. Now imagine that for your base salary.
 
the primary clinician where i work (an occ med consulting firm) taught internal medicine for 2 decades at a nearby medical school and he got so sick of the politics and bureaucracy of it that he ended up here, in an office environment. through conversations with him, i've come to the conclusion that academic medicine sounds rewarding but is very taxing, and while there's time to practice medicine, do research, and teach your craft to others, compensation is poor (relative to full-time practice) and rising the ranks takes a long time and often necessitates moving around the country following academic openings, while spending a lot of your time fighting (and competing with?) various institutional administrations. frankly, i'd rather be a full time clinician, but i'm only starting med school this fall so i have no first hand experience with any of this.

i would appreciate corrections to the above, though.
 
the primary clinician where i work (an occ med consulting firm) taught internal medicine for 2 decades at a nearby medical school and he got so sick of the politics and bureaucracy of it that he ended up here, in an office environment. through conversations with him, i've come to the conclusion that academic medicine sounds rewarding but is very taxing, and while there's time to practice medicine, do research, and teach your craft to others, compensation is poor (relative to full-time practice) and rising the ranks takes a long time and often necessitates moving around the country following academic openings, while spending a lot of your time fighting (and competing with?) various institutional administrations. frankly, i'd rather be a full time clinician, but i'm only starting med school this fall so i have no first hand experience with any of this.

i would appreciate corrections to the above, though.

I actually think it sounds pretty reasonable. My best estimate of community vs academic practice is that one is not less stressful than the other -- the stresses are just different.

At prestigious academic institutions you are definitely going to have to do something to carve out a place for yourself. It seems like the lower ranks of such institutions can be something of a revolving door.

Bottom line: I would not view academics as a great solution to the stresses of private practice.
 
With all the pessimistic talks about medicine and healthcare in the US ( decreasing reimbursements, etc) I have come to think that academic medicine is really a good alternative to private practice in this days of doom and gloom. With the proposed reimbursements cuts private practice will be less attractive and maybe academic medicine will be more sought after. I don't if this view is correct or not, but it is something I was thinking about the other day.

The problem with this is that you are ignoring the interplay between academic and private practice salaries. Academic doctors knowingly sacrifice a good bit of money when they leave private practice, but there is a limit to this. If academic salaries became too poor, many academic docs would leave and go into private practice. However, if private practice salaries stagnate or fall, then academic salaries will surely follow suit because they have no reason to give you much financial incentive to stay if the opportunities elsewhere are not good.
 
The problem with this is that you are ignoring the interplay between academic and private practice salaries. Academic doctors knowingly sacrifice a good bit of money when they leave private practice, but there is a limit to this. If academic salaries became too poor, many academic docs would leave and go into private practice. However, if private practice salaries stagnate or fall, then academic salaries will surely follow suit because they have no reason to give you much financial incentive to stay if the opportunities elsewhere are not good.

What's also missing from the convo is any consideration of the NIH budget right now. It's gone down the last two years and so right now it's hard to get funding for new grants. Academic doctors doing research are quite dependent on getting funding. Right now I wouldn't consider either route to be better off financially than the other.
 
What's also missing from the convo is any consideration of the NIH budget right now. It's gone down the last two years and so right now it's hard to get funding for new grants. Academic doctors doing research are quite dependent on getting funding. Right now I wouldn't consider either route to be better off financially than the other.

At one of the schools I interviewed at, my faculty interviewer was a former basic science researcher turned school admin. Her explanation? "The research money ran out."
 
Academic medicine can be a good opportunity for the right person, particularly someone who is a good researcher and likes to be at the cutting edge of their field (and has the ability to go there). Compensation might be a bit more stable, but generally speaking, pay is quite a bit lower than private practice so I'm not sure why someone would want to go into academia for the money (unless, perhaps, they expect to spin off a series of businesses based on a new technology, for example).
 
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